We like Halo3 and the occasional opportunity it gives us to vet out pent up aggression to complete strangers (or each other depending on the week). But one of the most useful “tricks” of the game is moving around the maps without being seen. Once you have that down, you can really last longer and get more kills. It was with great relief that I discovered a helpful video online that demonstrated the best technique for not being seen. Check it out and let me know if it was as useful to you as it was to our group. Read more…

This week I posted an article on Audioholics that scooped the news (by an entire day) that Pioneer has called it quits on plasma panel production. This is huge news as it means Pioneer’s gambit to sell only high-end plasmas (hey, even the high end line is called “Elite”) failed to generate enough business to make sense. Pioneer has multiple plasma panel manufacturing plants – all of which it will eventually close or repurpose. It will now buy all of its plasma glass panels from Matsushita (Panasonic).

It will now buy its plasma panels from Matsushita (Panasonic).

It will now buy its plasma panels from Matsushita (Panasonic).

Oh, did I repeat myself? Apparently I need to because with the amount of hate mail we received you’d think people didn’t actually read the article and stopped reading after they finished the headline (which succinctly stated: “Plasma is dead.”) With the amount of hate mail I received, you’d think I called their baby ugly. Read more…

I just got a C.I.T.S. kit sent to me today. Never mind that the kit has the same phonetical name as a bath system used for women who have just given birth… This CITS system is a custom installer’s dream come true… OK, it’s the boss of the customer installers’ dream come true. Anywhooo, it’s basically two ginormous cases filled with audio and video connectors, tools, widgets and gizmos. It also has a barcode scanner so you can track inventory and have the system prompt for re-orders, etc. It’s not cheap, but for people in the business it’s worth every penny. Read more…

So I go to City Hall today to take care of some business stuff and I am ushered into a room with a woman who will help me get what I need accomplished. On her desk are a pair of Altec Lansing speakers. They are the tiny satellite kind that appear in offices all over the United States I’m sure. What was unusual about them (so I thought) was their positioning. One pointed at the side wall next to her desk (it was a corner-oriented computer arrangement) – the other pointed completely sideways. SIDEWAYS. Neither was oriented correctly to deliver any sort of coherent stereo image. I’m relegated to the fact that girls don’t care about sound. They just don’t. If they hear anything at all it’s fine. Read more…

Yeah, so Tom and I got a bit ancy and decided to do a little Home Makeover on AVRant. The idea was to give it a more palatable look and feel that also enabled us to invite some more content into the exposed areas that previousy were not used very efficiently. We’ve gone from 2 columns to 3 and are now able to “front and center” some really cool info. We can also do some polls – and yes, we added some banners. But seriously, this podcast is NOT about the money. If we can bring in a little more, however, then we’ll be able to podcast more frequently – and that’s nice for everyone… well, maybe except for Dina. I think she has quite enough of Tom as it is…

Let us know what you think!